Ukraine-Russia war - live: Putin thanks troops for ‘taking Bakhmut’ as Zelensky says ‘nothing left’ in city

Ukraine has denied claims by Russia that it has captured Bakhmut.

Russian president Vladimir Putin has congratulated his troops after the Wagner Group claimed its mercenaries seized the key battle city in Ukraine’s east on Saturday afternoon. Kyiv has denied the city had been captured.

There was confusion on Sunday morning amid reports Volodymyr Zelensky appeared to confirm that the city had been captured by Russia while speaking at the G7 summit. But his spokesman later clarified that the Ukrainian president had not said the city had fallen.

Speaking alongside US president Joe Biden in Hiroshima, Japan, Mr Zelensky said the Russians had destroyed "everything" in Bakhmut.

"You have to understand that there is nothing," he said. “For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts. There is nothing in this place."

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin posed with fighters on Saturday after claiming to have captured the city. Ukraine denied the city had been taken but said the situation was “critical”.

Key Points

• Zelensky’s office pushes back on claims Bakhmut has fallen

• Putin congratulates troops as Wager Group claims control of Bakhmut

• Kyiv denies Putin has taken Bakhmut but warns ‘situation is critical’

• Ukraine at centre of G7 iconic photo as Zelensky condemns Russia’s ‘insane path'

Ukraine’s ‘insignificant’ territory in Bakhmut still a vital foothold, top general insists

19:58 , Andy Gregory

Kyiv’s troops are advancing on Russian forces in the suburbs of Bakhmut and are getting closer to a "tactical encirclement" of the city, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces has claimed.

General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Telegram that he had visited frontline positions near Bakhmut and thanked troops defending the area.

Accepting that the area still controlled by Ukraine was “insignificant”, the top general insisted the foothold would be enough to enter the devastated city when the situation changed, Reuters reported.

ICYMI: Russia warns of ‘colossal risks’ if F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine

19:00 , Matt Mathers

Russia has warned Western countries that supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets would carry “colossal risks”, after US president Joe Biden announced the US would support the delivery of warplanes.

As G7 leaders met for the second day of the summit in Japan, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko accused Western countries of “still adhering to the escalation scenario”.

“It involves colossal risks for themselves,” he added. “In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the goals we have set.”

Katy Clifton reports:

Russia warns of ‘colossal risks’ if F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine

Opinion: Are the economic sanctions on Russia yielding desirable results?

18:00 , Matt Mathers

They have long been the weapon of choice of political leaders wishing to curb a rogue country’s behaviour – the problem is, they rarely work, writes Chris Blackhurst.

Read Chris’s full piece here:

Are the economic sanctions on Russia yielding desirable results? | Chris Blackhurst

ICYMI: Modi promises ‘whatever is possible’ to find solution on Ukraine to Zelensky at G7

17:00 , Matt Mathers

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi has assured Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky of “whatever is possible” to find a solution to bring an end to the continuing war amid Russia’s full-scale invasion as the two leaders met in Hiroshima along the sidelines of the G7 summit.

“Over the past one-and-a-half years, we have spoken on the phone but… after a long time, we have an opportunity to meet. The war in Ukraine is a very big issue for the whole world. It has had many different impacts on the whole world,” Mr Modi told the Ukrainian president as the two leaders sat down for their first face-to-face talks with their delegation on Saturday.

Mr Modi added: “… But I don’t see this as a political or economic issue, for me this is an issue of humanity, an issue of human values.”

Arpan Rai reports:

Modi promises ‘whatever is possible’ to find solution on Ukraine to Zelensky at G7

Wagner chief says he will pull fighters out of Bakhmut after ‘capturing city’

16:40 , Matt Mathers

The leader of a Russian mercenary group has said he will pull its fighters from Bakhmut after claiming to have captured the Ukrainian city.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk-Oblast region, had been captured by his private army on Saturday afternoon - a claim Ukraine continues to dispute.

Volodymyr Zelensky’s deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar instead claimed Ukrainian forces have partly encircled the besieged eastern city along the flanks and still control a part of the city.

Full report:

Wagner chief says he will pull fighters out of Bakhmut after ‘capturing city’

ICYMI: ‘Putin will not break our resolve,’ Joe Biden tells G7

16:20 , Matt Mathers

Joe Biden has insisted Russian president Vladimir Putin “will not break our resolve” as he vowed America would show “unwavering” commitment to Ukraine in a speech at the G7 summit.

Speaking on the last day of the summit in Japan, the US president called for “peace that respects Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.

He also said Volodymyr Zelensky has given the US a “flat assurance” that Ukraine will not use F-16 jets to attack Russian territory after the US gave the green light for Western allies to hand over their F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv to bolster defences.

Martha McHardy reports:

‘Putin will not break our resolve,’ Joe Biden tells G7

Russian mercenary chief plays down regular army's role in claimed capture of Bakhmut

15:39 , Matt Mathers

The founder of Russia’s Wagner mercenary force on Sunday played down the role of the regular Russian army in capturing Bakhmut, the east Ukrainian city that Moscow claimed to have taken a day earlier.

In a voice message published by his press service on Telegram, Yevgeny Prigozhin said: "During the taking of Artyomovsk, practically no one from the army helped us", referring to Bakhmut by its Soviet-era name.

Kyiv denies Russia has taken full control of Bakhmut and says its forces have partly encircled the city.

Wagner fighters have long spearheaded Russia’s campaign to take the city, taking heavy losses in the process.

In the same message, Prigozhin praised individual Russsian army units, while restating long-standing criticism of the leadership of Russia’s defence ministry, which he has accused of hampering the war effort via incompetence.

South Korea and Germany to sign defence pact

15:20 , Matt Mathers

South Korea and Germany will soon sign an agreement aimed at protecting military secrets to boost defence cooperation, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said on Sunday as he met with German chancellor Olaf Scholz in Seoul.

The military information agreement will help "smoothly operate the defence industry supply chain", amid global economic and political instability, Yoon told a briefing.

South Korea, which recently pursued a similar information-sharing pact with Canada, has moved to expand its defence industry amid rising demand driven by the war in Ukraine and other global tensions, but has so far refused to provide weapons to Kyiv.

Yoon said respect for freedom as a universal value was "very vital" in the face of authoritarianism challenging democracy, unstable global supply chains and the war.

"From now, I expect South Korea and Germany will further expand reciprocal and future-oriented cooperation and strengthen the solidarity for peace and prosperity of Europe and Asia," Yoon said in opening remarks at the meeting with Scholz.

The two leaders also discussed deepening cooperation in production of semiconductors, among other areas.

Pro-government rally in Moldovan capital draws tens of thousands

15:00 , Matt Mathers

Tens of thousands of Moldovans rallied in the capital Chisinau on Sunday to support their pro-Western government’s drive towards Europe amid what officials have said are Russian efforts to destabilise their country.

Moldova has been badly hit by the impact of Moscow’s invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, which Chisinau has repeatedly condemned, and applied to join the European Union.

President Maida Sandu has accused Russia of seeking to sabotage its European integration by fuelling anti-government protests and propaganda. Moscow denies meddling in Moldova’s affairs.

"Moldova does not want to be blackmailed by the Kremlin," Sandu said at the rally, which was organised by her government and packed a central square.

Police said more than 75,000 demonstrators were present.

"We don’t want to be on the outskirts of Europe anymore," she said, pledging that Moldova would become an EU member by 2030.

Russia calls G7 summit incubator for anti-Russian and anti-Chinese ‘hysteria’

14:35 , Matt Mathers

Russia’s foreign ministry on Sunday dismissed the G7 summit in Japan’s Hiroshima as a "politicised" event that it said had pumped out anti-Russian and anti-Chinese statements and accused the forum of undermining global stability.

Moscow lashed out after the leaders of the world’s richest democracies said they would not back down from supporting Ukraine, in a warning to Russian president Vladimir Putin as he claimed to have taken the eastern city of Bakhmut, something Kyiv denied.

In a statement posted on Telegram, the Russian foreign ministry said that the G7 had "irreversibly deteriorated" and that the forum had become "an ‘incubator’ where, under the leadership of the Anglo-Saxons, destructive initiatives that undermine global stability are prepared".

The statement accused the G7 of fanning anti-Russian and anti-Chinese "hysteria".

Estonia and Latvia look to purchase mid-range air defence from Germany

14:10 , Matt Mathers

European Union and NATO members Estonia and Latvia will begin negotiations with Germany’s Diehl Defence for the purchase of a medium-range air defence system, Estonia’s Defence ministry said on Sunday.

The cost of the Iris-T SLM air defence system and additional capabilities such as infrastructure, personnel, training, equipment, will be determined at the negotiations, which could be concluded during the summer, it added.

“Our objective is to ensure operational medium-range air defence capabilities for Estonia by 2025, which means that the first systems should arrive in 2024,” Estonia’s defence minister Hanno Pevkur said.

The purchase will be led by Estonia Centre for Defence Investment.

Zelensky likens Bakhmut’s devastation to Hiroshima after World War Two

13:45 , Matt Mathers

President Volodymyr Zelensky likened the destruction of Ukraine’s eastern city of Bakhmut to that of Hiroshima in World War Two, as he attended the G7 summit in the Japanese city on Sunday.

Russia said on Saturday it had captured the ruined city of Bakhmut after the longest and bloodiest battle of its full-scale invasion, though Ukraine denies Moscow’s forces have full control of the city.

"I’ll tell you openly: Photographs of ruined Hiroshima absolutely remind me of Bakhmut and other similar settlements. Nothing left alive, all the buildings ruined," he told reporters.

Zelensky told the press conference that Ukrainian forces were continuing to fighting inside the city of Bakhmut and were carrying out "important tasks".

"Today they are in Bakhmut which places, I won’t share. But this speaks to the fact that Bakhmut has not been captured by the Russian Federation as of today. There are no two or three interpretations of this."

The photos below show the scale of some of the destruction in the city, which has become the longest-running battle in the war.

Ukraine controls ‘insignificant’ part of Bakhmut, advancing on flanks - general

13:20 , Matt Mathers

A top Ukrainian general said on Sunday that Kyiv’s forces controlled an "insignificant" part of the eastern city of Bakhmut, but that the foothold would be enough to enter the devastated city when the situation changed.

In a Telegram post, general Oleksandr Syrskyi said Kyiv’s forces were advancing on Russian forces in the suburbs of Bakhmut and that they were getting closer to a "tactical encirclement" of the city.

Ukraine says troops still engaging Russian forces in Bakhmut after Moscow announces victory in city

13:00 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian soldiers were still engaging Russian forces in fierce battles in and around Bakhmut on Sunday, military officials said, hours after Moscow and the private army Wagner announced that their troops had taken full control of the eastern city.

The fog of war made it impossible to confirm the situation on the ground in the invasion’s longest battle, and a series of comments from Ukrainian and Russian officials added confusion to the matter.

Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar even went so far as to say that Ukrainian troops “took the city in a semi-encirclement.”

Susie Blann and Elise Morton report:

Ukraine says troops still engaging Russian forces in Bakhmut after Moscow announces victory in city

Watch: Zelensky and Fumio Kishida lay wreaths at Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima

12:35 , Matt Mathers

Watch: Zelensky takes part in family photo with world leaders at G7 summit

12:10 , Matt Mathers

Bakhmut not occupied by Russia - Zelenksy

12:05 , Matt Mathers

Bakhmut is not occupied by Russia as of today, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

Answering questions from the media at a press conference following the G7 leaders’ meeting in Japan, Mr Zelensky was asked whether the battle for the city was still ongoing and whether its defence was worth all the lives that have been lost.

He said: “We don’t have simple questions any more, as well as we don’t have simple answers. Because we have a very complicated neighbour, who is a criminal and terrorist, a complicated enemy.

“We are keeping young, fighting thanks to the courage of our people, our warriors, and thanks to our cleverness. We are not throwing people to die.”

Mr Zelensky added: “Bakhmut is not occupied by Russian Federation as of today. There are no two or three interpretations of those words.

Russian-installed official says Kyiv struck port city with British Storm Shadow missiles

11:40 , Matt Mathers

A Russian-installed official in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region said on Sunday that Kyiv had struck the Russian-held port city of Berdyansk with British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

In a statement on Telegram, Vladimir Rogov said that seven missiles had been fired at the city, four of which were Storm Shadow missiles.

He said six of the missiles had been intercepted and one had fallen on the edge of the city but had not caused any casualties.

The claims could not be immediately verified independently.

‘Putin will not break our resolve’ - Biden

11:28 , Matt Mathers

Vladimir Putin will not break the revolve of the West in its support for Ukraine, US president Joe Biden has said.

He made the remarks in a speech at the G7 summit in Japan which has been dominated by Russia’s illegal invasion of its neighbour.

“Russia started this war and Russia can end it today by withdrawing its troops from internationally recognised borders,” Mr Biden said.

“This morning I once more shared and assured President Zelensky … that we will not waver.

“Putin will not break our resolve, as he thought he could two years ago, almost three years ago.”

Kyiv - Ukrainian troops have partly encircled Bakhmut, still control part of city

10:52 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian forces have partly encircled the besieged eastern city of Bakhmut along the flanks and still control a part of the city, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said on Sunday.

Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier on Sunday congratulated the Wagner mercenary force and the Russian army a day after Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his group had captured the city.

But Maliar said Ukrainian troops are continuing their advances along Bakhmut’s outskirts and have claimed part of the heights overlooking the city.

"Our forces have taken the city in a semi-encirclement, which gives us the opportunity to destroy the enemy," she wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

"Therefore, the enemy has to defend himself in the part of the city he controls."

Maliar added that Ukrainian troops are still defending industrial and infrastructure facilities in Bakhmut as well as a private sector of the city.

Russian parliament chief proposes Polish truck ban, says Warsaw owes Moscow billions

11:07 , Matt Mathers

Russia’s top lawmaker on Sunday called for a ban on Polish trucks transiting Russian territory and for Poland to compensate Moscow financially for what he said was the Soviet rebuilding of the east European country after World War Two.

In a statement, Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said that Poland needed to be punished for having "betrayed the historical memory" of the Soviet Union’s liberation of the country from Nazi Germany with a series of hostile acts against Moscow.

In comments certain to deepen a feud with Warsaw, Volodin said Poland existed as a state only "thanks to our country", said Warsaw should pay Russia over $750 bn to compensate it for Soviet investment in the country after World War Two.

He said Poland should also hand back territory it received after the war.

There was no immediate reaction to his comments from Warsaw.

UN chief says it’s time to reform Security Council and Bretton Woods

10:15 , Matt Mathers

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres said on Sunday that it was time to reform both the Security Council and Bretton Woods to align with the "realities of today’s world".

Speaking at a press conference in Hiroshima, Japan, where the G7 summit meeting had been held, Guterres said both institutions reflected the power relations of 1945 and needed to be updated.

"The global financial architecture is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair," he said. "In the face of the economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has failed to fulfil its core function as a global safety net."

Company linked to Wager shares photo of troops raising Russian flag in Bakhmut

09:45 , Matt Mathers

This video grab is taken from handout footage posted on 20 May, 2023 on the Telegram account of the press service of Concord --a company linked to the chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin .

It purports to show members of Wagner Group waving a Russian national flag and Wagner Group’s flag on the rooftop of a damaged building in Bakhmut, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Prigozhin says Wager has claimed control of Bakhmut - Ukraine denies this.

UK support for Ukraine will ‘never waver’, Rishi Sunak tells Zelensky

09:14 , Matt Mathers

after meeting Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

The prime minister said he was glad the group of allies have agreed on the importance of providing the Ukrainian president with the advanced military equipment he needs as he pushes for F-16 fighter jets.

Sam Blewett reports:

UK support for Ukraine will ‘never waver’, Rishi Sunak tells Zelensky

Zelensky seeks G7 support for Kyiv's 'peace formula'

08:43 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought global support on Sunday for Kyiv’s plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine, telling G7 leaders it was "an obvious expression of rationality".

Zelensky, who is attending the G7 summit in Japan in person, has in recent months been promoting what his administration has billed as a "peace formula".

"We’re united by one more principle of rationality," he said in a speech to the leaders, the text of which was posted to the president’s website.

"We always act practically protecting our values. And the Ukrainian Peace Formula is an obvious expression of rationality. I thank you for supporting our Formula."

In a separate social media post, Zelensky said he had presented the plan to G7 leaders at the Hiroshima summit.

"We have developed the Peace Formula in a way that ensures each of its points is backed by UN resolutions," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

"And in a way that everyone in the world can choose the track they can contribute to. From Japan to the Arab countries, from Europe to Latin America, we find support for our Formula."

Zelensky appears to confirm Russia has taken Bakhmut

07:53 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky appears to have confirmed that Russia has taken control of the city of Bakhmut after a bloody eight-month battle by Moscow’s Wagner private army.

Mr Zelensky said he thought Ukraine had lost the city, but added, "You have to understand that there is nothing," saying of the Russians, "They destroyed everything."

"For today, Bakhmut is only in our hearts," he said. "There is nothing in this place."

Mr Zelensky was speaking alongside President Joe Biden at the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

Russia takes control of Bakhmut - Wager Group

07:50 , Matt Mathers

Russia claimed on Saturday to have fully captured the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which would mark an end to the longest and bloodiest battle of the 15-month war.

The assault on the largely levelled city was led by troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier in the day that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city.

Taking Bakhmut - which Russia refers to by its Soviet-era name of Artyomovsk - would represent Moscow’s first big victory in the conflict in more than 10 months.

"As a result of offensive actions by Wagner assault units, supported by artillery and aviation of the Southern Group of Forces, the liberation of Artyomovsk has been completed," the Russian defence ministry said in a one-line statement.

Russian media reported that President Putin had congratulated his troops.

Russia using long-strikes for more timely battle damage assessment – UK MoD

07:11 , Arpan Rai

Russia has restarted frequent long-range missile strikes deep into Ukraine. They are likely primarily aimed at degrading Ukrainian air defences since early this month, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today.

“Innovating on earlier waves of deep strikes, Russia has started more frequently integrating unarmed, surveillance uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) into operations. These have included Russian-produced SuperCam UAVs which are relatively cheap and have sufficient range to fly over the cruise missiles’ targets,” it said in its latest intelligence update.

Moscow has “highly likely adopted this tactic in an attempt to obtain more timely battle damage assessment and improve its targeting cycle”, the ministry added.

“The Russian military’s slow and inefficient targeting process has been a major weakness in its performance in Ukraine. However, slow surveillance UAVs are highly vulnerable to Ukrainian air defences,” it said.

No peace talks while Russia forces remain inside Ukraine, says Zelensky

06:43 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said there will be no peace talks while Russian forces remain inside Ukraine as he pitched Kyiv’s peace formula “to the world” at the G7 summit.

“Our world is vast, but we are all in it together. And this is our shared cause — peace. proposed its Peace Formula to the world. As long as invaders remain on our land, no one will sit down at the negotiating table with [Russian flag]. The coloniser must get out,” Mr Zelensky said in a tweet.

He added: “And the world has enough power to force [Russian flag] to restore peace step by step. We have developed the Peace Formula in a way that ensures each of its points is backed by UN resolutions. And in a way that everyone in the world can choose the track they can contribute to. From Japan to the Arab countries, from Europe to Latin America, we find support for our Formula. And we continue this work.”

Russian minister slams G7 for isolating Moscow

06:09 , Arpan Rai

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has panned the G7 summit for aiming to isolate both China and Russia.

“The task has been set loudly and openly: to defeat Russia on the battlefield, but not to stop there, but to eliminate it as a geopolitical competitor. As a matter of fact, any other country that claims some kind of independent place in the world alignment will also be to suppress a competitor,” the top minister said.

He added: “Look at the decisions that are now being discussed and adopted in Hiroshima, at the G7 summit, and which are aimed at the double containment of Russia and China.”

F-16 offer is basic pilot training, says France

05:46 , Arpan Rai

For France, the offer made on F-16 jet was for basic pilot training, a French military official briefing reporters at the G7 said cautiously about the process.

Discussions with Kyiv were ongoing and no Ukrainian pilots were now being trained in France, the official said.

France does not have F-16s, only French-made Rafale warplanes and previous-generation Mirage 2000 jets.

The official added that training a person from scratch to operate a Nato-made warplane demands as long as four years but an experienced pilot who has a grip on Ukrainian jets would require four to nine months to finish training.

“It’s not the immediate priority for Ukraine. We are in a counteroffensive stage and this training won’t be ready in the coming weeks, but for the long term,” the official said.

The official said talk of F-16s was grabbing headlines, as the issue of German-made Leopard tanks had done before, while insisting the current request was just for training.

“It’s the logo to show the initiative. It’s an initiative to train pilots without putting a plane behind it,” he said.

Ukraine at centre of G7 iconic photo as Zelensky condemns Russia’s ‘insane path'

05:04 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky was flanked by the world’s top leaders today in Hiroshima as they gathered for a photo on the last day of the G7 summit.

On his right were Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida and US president Joe Biden and on his left were French president Emmanuel Macron and Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau in the powerful photo op.

“Together with all of our allies and partners, we have achieved such a level of cooperation which ensures that democracy, international law, and freedom are respected. There have been attempts to ignore and disregard what we value. But now it is impossible,” Mr Zelensky said, adding that the power of the world’s top countries is growing.

He added: “Anyone who might want to wage aggression against a democratic country sees what the response will be. And the more we all work together, the less likely anyone else in the world will follow Russia’s insane path.”

Zelensky and Trudeau discuss cooperation in security and defence at G7

04:45 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian president Vlodymyr Zelensky met with Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima today and discussed security and defence matters.

“We discussed further cooperation in the security and defense sphere, the situation on the frontline, training of Ukrainian officers within the UNIFIER Canadian training mission,” the war-time president said on Twitter.

He added: “I am grateful to Justin Trudeau and Canada for the assistance in demining our territories and for the prompt processing of our requests by the Government of Canada and Canadian manufacturers.”

Bakhmut makes divide between Putin’s troops and Wagner public

04:30 , Arpan Rai

The battle for Bakhmut has exposed the widening rift between military forces deployed by Vladimir Putin to capture the Ukrainian city, visible in the declaration made by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin yesterday.

In yesterday’s video claiming victory, he said that because of the “whims” of defence minister Sergei Shoigu and chief of staff Valery Gerasimov, “five times more guys died than they should have”.

He thanked Putin “that he gave us this chance and great honour to defend our motherland”.

For two weeks, Prigozhin has been issuing daily video and audio messages denouncing Russia’s military leadership, often in expletive-laden rants.

The differences have also been visible in their separate claims over the city as Russia acknowledged losing some ground around Bakhmut in the past week and denied assertions by Prigozhin that the flanks around the city guarded by regular troops have collapsed.

Kyiv says its aim in Bakhmut has been to draw Russian forces from elsewhere on the front into the city, to inflict high casualties there and weaken Moscow’s defensive line elsewhere ahead of a planned major counteroffensive.

Moscow, on the other hand, has made capture of Bakhmut a symbolic target despite the town dubbed as ‘grinding meat’ for the heavy losses inflicted on both sides. The town will have little strategic value in the course of war, experts have argued.

This has been acknowledged by Prigozhin, that the former city of 70,000 people, has little strategic significance, despite its huge symbolic importance because of the scale of losses in Europe’s bloodiest ground battle since the Second World War.

Putin congratulates Russian troops on capturing Bakhmut

04:08 , Arpan Rai

Russian president Vladimir Putin has congratulated Russian troops on capturing Bakhmut and said those who had distinguished themselves would be given awards, domestic Russian news agencies reported.

The Russian defence ministry has claimed that the Wagner private mercenary group backed by Russian troops seized the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut yesterday despite refusal by Kyiv.

The claims came after a week in which Ukrainian forces have made their most rapid gains for six months on Bakhmut’s northern and southern flanks.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has repeatedly denounced Russia’s regular military for abandoning ground captured earlier by his men, said his own forces would pull out of Bakhmut in five days to rest, handing the ruins over to the regular military on 25 May.

“Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken,” Prigozhin said in a video in which he appeared in combat fatigues in front of a line of fighters holding Russian flags and Wagner banners. “We completely took the whole city, from house to house.”

ICYMI: The secret network of tunnels under ‘paranoid’ Putin’s bunker

04:00 , Natalie Crockett

Vladimir Putin has a secret network of underground tunnels that run beneath his palace hideaway by the Black Sea, unearthed plans suggest.

Mr Putin had a huge underground bunker built beneath Gelendzhik Palace, according to plans posted online by the engineering firm in charge of the project, with a network of tunnels lying around 50 metres under the surface.

The complex, first reported by Business Insider, is thought to have been constructed for protection in the event of a revolution or war and was built before Russia took over Crimea in 2014.

Tara Cobham has more:

The secret network of tunnels under ‘paranoid’ Putin’s bunker

F-16 deal message to Russia to not bet on winning lengthy Ukraine conflict, says Scholz

03:48 , Arpan Rai

Potential joint allied training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s is a message being sent to Russia that it should not look to succeed in its invasion of Ukraine even if it counts on a prolonged conflict, German chancellor Olaf Scholz said today.

Ukraine has not yet won commitments for delivery of the planes, but senior US officials said Joe Biden told G7 leaders on Friday that Washington supports joint allied training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulates troops on Bakhmut ‘capture'

03:30 , Natalie Crockett

Vladimir Putin on Saturday congratulated troops for capturing the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Russian news agencies said those who had distinguished themselves would be given awards.

The assault on the city was led by troops from the Wagner Group of mercenaries, whose leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said earlier in the day that his troops had finally pushed the Ukrainians out of the last built-up area inside the city.

But Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi denied the reports, telling news agency Reuters: “This is not true. Our units are fighting in Bakhmut.”

02:45 , Natalie Crockett

Britain’s support for Ukraine will “never waver”, Rishi Sunak has pledged after meeting Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

The prime minister said he was glad the group of allies have agreed on the importance of providing the Ukrainian president with the advanced military equipment he needs as he pushes for F-16 fighter jets.

Mr Zelensky will address the leaders of the major Western democracies during meetings on Sunday.

He is on course to receive the boost of being donated advanced jets after US President Joe Biden authorised Western allies to transfer them to Kyiv.

Read more here:

UK support for Ukraine will ‘never waver’, Rishi Sunak tells Zelensky

Zelensky is right – the sanctions aren’t working

01:44 , Natalie Crockett

The Russian economy has suffered from its isolation, and from the sudden withdrawal of Western trade and investment, but it has certainly not been “strangled”.

If nothing else, Volodymyr Zelensky’s presence at the G7 summit sends a powerful message, not least to the Kremlin, that he retains the support of the West’s largest economies.

Despite signs of wobbling from Emmanuel Macron during his recent trip to Beijing, President Zelensky should be reassured that he can still rely on the West to resist Russian territorial expansion in Europe.

Read our Editorial here:

Editorial: As Zelensky flies in to the G7, oily Russia is once again slipping the net

ICYMI: It’s the safe haven surrounded by jihadist radicals, Russian mercenaries and madcap dictators. Can it cling on?

Sunday 21 May 2023 00:45 , Natalie Crockett

In a region beset with violent strife, Islamist insurgency, Russia’s Wagner mercenaries and unstable military regimes, the Sahel state of Niger has become a focus of Western interest as a security and economic partner.

The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has visited recently, and the defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, is due to follow. The country’s president, Mohamed Bazoum, has met Emmanuel Macron in Paris, and was one of the few notable non-Commonwealth African heads of state in London for King Charles’s coronation.

Mr Bazoum spoke to The Independent about the issues facing his country, including the threat of Wagner, a jihadist surge being fuelled by the climate crisis, the need to attract foreign investment to help drive education and employment, and efforts to foster relations with the West and Britain.

Kim Sengupta has more:

The safe haven surrounded by jihadist radicals, mercenaries and madcap dictators

What would capture of Bakhmut mean for Wagner group?

Saturday 20 May 2023 23:45 , Andrew Osborn, Reuters

The capture of Bakhmut would be a boost for Russia’s most high-profile mercenaries - Wagner - and their publicity-hungry founder Yevgeny Prigozhin.

The 61-year-old former convict and catering tycoon, who is sanctioned in the West, has been seeking to parlay his outfit’s battlefield success into political influence.

While mounting evidence suggests the Kremlin has moved to curb what it sees as his excessive political clout, nobody could dispute that Wagner mercenaries, including convicts recruited by Prigozhin, have played a major role as assault troops.

Some Western military experts believe Ukraine’s goal was to destroy Wagner as a fighting force in Bakhmut and Prigozhin has admitted that his mercenary force would need extra support from the regular army to keep advancing beyond Bakhmut.

Toll of the fighting in Bakhmut

Saturday 20 May 2023 22:45 , Andrew Osborn, Reuters

Ukraine and Russia have both said the battle for Bakhmut, which Moscow calls by its Soviet-era name Artyomovsk, has been important to destroy and distract each other’s forces ahead of an expected major Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Reminiscent of World War One, fighting involved trenches and relentless artillery and rocket strikes across a heavily-mined battlefield as well as house-to-house clashes and air attacks which destroyed much of the city.

Most of the pre-war population of 70,000-80,000 had long since fled. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said those left were eking out an existence in underground shelters under heavy shelling.

Images of battlefields strewn with corpses from both sides surfaced on social media. Casualty figures are classified, but U.S. officials estimate that tens of thousands of Russian soldiers - many of them convicts recruited by Wagner – were killed. Russian officials alleged high Ukrainian losses too. Reuters is unable to verify battlefield casualty figures.

Prigozhin, whose Wagner forces led the battle for the Russians, published numerous pictures of his own dead fighters, often as part of an attempt to lobby Russia’s defence ministry for more ammunition.

Zelensky portrayed “Fortress Bakhmut” as a symbol of defiance which he said was bleeding the Russian military dry. His aide Mykhailo Podolyak said the battle had pinned down some of Russia’s best units and degraded them ahead of Ukraine’s planned Western-backed spring push back.

How important is the claimed capture by Russia's Wagner Group of Ukraine's Bakhmut?

Saturday 20 May 2023 21:45 , Andrew Osborn, Reuters

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday that his pro-Putin Wagner mercenary group fighters had completed the capture of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut after months of intense fighting – a claim denied by Ukraine.

A regional transport and logistics hub, Bakhmut is in Ukraine’s Donetsk, part of the largely Russian-speaking industrialised Donbas region which Moscow wants to annex with its self-declared “special military operation”.

US Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and NatoO alliance head Jens Stoltenberg have played down its potential fall as symbolic, as have Western military experts.

But Bakhmut’s capture, if confirmed, would put within easy range of Russian artillery two bigger cities in the Donetsk region - Kramatorsk and Sloviansk - that Russia has long coveted. Moscow needs to control both to complete what it calls its “liberation” of the “People’s Republic of Donetsk.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told CNN in March that he feared Russian forces would have “an open road” to the two cities if they took Bakhmut, and said his order to hold it was a tactical decision.

The nearby town of Chasiv Yar, west of Bakhmut, would probably be next to come under Russian attack, though it is on higher ground and Ukrainian forces are believed to have built defensive fortifications nearby.

Western analysts and diplomats are sceptical that Russian forces would be able to swiftly capitalise on Bakhmut’s capture given that they began shelling the city a year ago, launched a ground assault in August and have suffered major losses since.

Russia’s chaotic withdrawal from Ukraine’s northeast last year also deprived it of territory that would have made it easier for its forces to seize cities like Sloviansk once they had control of Bakhmut.

UN official criticised after meeting Russian sought by ICC

Saturday 20 May 2023 20:44 , Natalie Crockett

Rights groups and the top US justice envoy have criticised a meeting between a UN official and a Russian ombudsman who is wanted by the world’s war crimes court.

An arrest warrant was issued in March by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia’s ombudsman for children’s rights, who it has accused of deporting hundreds of Ukrainian children to Russia.

Lvova-Belova said on her website on Friday that she held a working meeting with Virginia Gamba, the special representative of the UN secretary-general for children and armed conflict and that they discussed the protection of children in conflict.

But that has not gone down well with the West.

“Ukrainian victims deserve to see Lvova-Belova behind bars in The Hague, not meeting with high-level UN officials,” said Balkees Jarrah, associate director in the International Justice Program at Human Rights Watch.

US ambassador for Global Justice Beth van Schaack, said on social media on Friday night that such a meeting would be “deeply concerning.”

Pope asks cardinal to carry out peace ‘mission’ on Ukraine war

Saturday 20 May 2023 19:45 , Natalie Crockett

Pope Francis has asked the head of the Italian bishops’ conference to carry out a peace mission to try to help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.

According to a Vatican diplomatic source, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi would try to meet separately with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Vatican said in a statement on Saturday that Cardinal Zuppi, 67, would carry out the mission “to contribute to reducing tensions of the conflict in Ukraine, in the hope, never given up by the Holy Father, that this could start peace processes”.

Returning from a trip to Hungary on April 30, Francis made an intriguing but puzzling comment about the Vatican being involved in a mission to try to end the war.

“There is a mission in course now but it is not yet public. When it is public, I will reveal it,” he told reporters.

The Vatican said the timing and specifics of the mission were still being worked out.

Zelensky invites India PM to join Ukraine’s peace formula

Saturday 20 May 2023 19:00 , Natalie Crockett

Volodymyr Zelensky said he had invited India to join Ukraine’s peace formula during his talks with prime minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit on Saturday in Japan.

Mr Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app that the two had also discussed Ukraine’s needs in mobile hospitals and removing land mines during their first face-to-face meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Mr Modi told Mr Zelensky he was keen to help and that for him the war was an issue of humanity and human values.

“I assure you that for its resolution India, and I personally will do everything within our means,” he said.

New Delhi and Moscow have enjoyed a close relationship for decades, and India has refused to condemn Russia for the war in Ukraine. The country’s trade with Moscow has risen to a record high, driven largely by India ramping up imports of Russian oil.

Several Western leaders have criticised India’s close ties with Russia as they try to isolate Moscow.

Key moments in the Battle of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s east

Saturday 20 May 2023 18:25 , Natalie Crockett

The battle for the small city of Bakhmut in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region has become the longest and bloodiest of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Here is a timeline of key events there:

May 8, 2022 - Ukraine confirms its forces have withdrawn from Popasna, a town around 15 miles (24 km) east of Bakhmut, with a major road running between the two settlements. Russian forces can now advance towards Bakhmut and pound it with artillery.

Aug. 9, 2022 - British defence intelligence says the Bakhmut axis has been Russia’s most successful front over the last 30 days and troops have advanced about 10 km (6 miles) in the region.

Oct. 8, 2022 - The date pinpointed by Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin as the start of the assault on Bakhmut city by his Wagner fighters.

Oct. 15, 2022 - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says the situation in Bakhmut is “the most difficult” of all the front lines. “We are holding our positions,” he says.

Dec. 20, 2022 - Zelenskiy pays a surprise visit to the city, where he hails his “superhuman” troops and urges them to fight on.

Jan. 25, 2023 - Ukraine’s military says it has withdrawn from the town of Soledar, north of Bakhmut. Two weeks earlier, Prigozhin posted a photo of him and his fighters in what he said was one of Soledar’s salt mines.

Feb. 3, 2023 - Zelenskiy says Ukraine will fight “as long as we can” for Bakhmut. “Nobody will give away Bakhmut ... We consider Bakhmut our fortress,” he says.

March 22, 2023 - Zelenskiy makes a surprise visit to troops near Bakhmut to thank them for their bravery and hand out awards.

April 2, 2023 - Prigozhin hoists a Russian flag by what he says is the Bakhmut city hall. He says taking the building means Bakhmut has been captured by Moscow “from a legal point of view”. Ukraine rejects his claim, saying it is not clear where Prigozhin raised the flag.

April 11, 2023 - Prigozhin says Wagner control more than 80% of Bakhmut. Ukraine denies this, saying it controls “considerably” more than 20% of the city.

April 26, 2023 - Britain’s Ministry of Defence says fighting has reached Bakhmut’s western outskirts over the past week, especially around the settlement of Khromove on its northwestern edge, as Ukraine seeks to retain control of the main access road.

May 1, 2023 - Ukraine claims to have ousted Russian forces from some positions in Bakhmut amid fierce battles.

May 10, 2023 - Ukraine’s ground forces commander says Russian units in some parts of Bakhmut have retreated by up to 2 km (1.2 miles).

May 19, 2023 - Ukraine says it has repelled attacks by Russian forces trying to recapture ground around Bakhmut. Prigozhin says “heavy, bloody battles” are continuing and his men are close to completely capturing Bakhmut.

May 20, 2023 - Prigozhin says Wagner have completed the capture of Bakhmut. Ukraine says the situation there is critical, with its troops still defending the southwestern part of the city.

Wagner troops ‘climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap'

Saturday 20 May 2023 17:45 , Natalie Crockett

Whether the Ukrainian forces have left Bakhmut or not, they have been slowly pulling back inside it, to clusters of buildings on the city’s western edge.

Meanwhile, to the north and south, they have made their most rapid gains for six months in the surrounding area, seizing swathes of territory from Russian troops.

Russia has acknowledged losing some ground around Bakhmut in the past week, while denying assertions by Wagner mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin that the flanks around the city guarded by regular troops have collapsed.

Kyiv says its aim in Bakhmut has been to draw Russian forces from elsewhere on the front into the city, to inflict high casualties there and weaken Moscow’s defensive line elsewhere ahead of a planned major counteroffensive.

“Wagner troops climbed into Bakhmut like rats into a mousetrap,” Oleksander Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine’s ground forces, told troops at the Bakhmut front this week.

Russia warns of ‘colossal risks’ if F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine

Saturday 20 May 2023 17:10 , Natalie Crockett

Russia has warned Western countries that supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets would carry “colossal risks” after US President Joe Biden paved the way for Kyiv to receive the warplanes.

As G7 leaders met for the second day of the summit in Japan, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko accused Western countries of “still adhering to the escalation scenario”.

“It involves colossal risks for themselves,” he added. “In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the goals we have set.”

Katy Clifton has more:

Russia warns of ‘colossal risks’ if F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine

Russia putting International Criminal Court prosecutor on wanted list ‘deplorable’

Saturday 20 May 2023 16:36 , Natalie Crockett

International Criminal Court member states have condemned Russia’s placing of the court’s prosecutor and several judges on a wanted list.

The ICC’s British prosecutor, Karim Khan, has been added to the Russian Interior Ministry’s wanted list, state-owned news agency TASS reported on Friday, citing the ministry’s database.

On Saturday, member states said the move was “deeply concerning and deplorable”.

The comments came from the presidency of the Assembly of States Parties to the ICC, the court’s management oversight body, comprised of its 123 member states.

Are the economic sanctions on Russia yielding desirable results?

Saturday 20 May 2023 16:05 , Natalie Crockett

Sanctions have long been the weapon of choice of political leaders wishing to curb a rogue country’s behaviour – the problem is, they rarely work.

By now, Russia should be in economic ruin. So much so that public pressure would have demanded a negotiated settlement with Ukraine.

It simply hasn’t happened. Instead, the country’s economy is ticking along, and has done so pretty much ever since Vladimir Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine. The rouble fell at first, then soon bounced back. Russia has been able to take advantage of higher oil and gas prices, caused by its own aggression. Imports dipped for a while, but now they’ve returned to their pre-war levels.

Chris Blackhurst has more:

Are the economic sanctions on Russia yielding desirable results? | Chris Blackhurst

‘Situation critical’ in Bakhmut

Saturday 20 May 2023 15:28 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine has denied claims by Russia that it has taken full control of Bakhmut but warned the situation in the key battle town is “critical”.

Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s defence minister, pushed back on the claim by Yevgeny Prigozhin that his Wagner Group of mercenaries had seized the town  around lunchtime.

“Heavy fighting in Bakhmut. The situation is critical,” she said on the Telegram messaging app.

“As of now, our defenders control some industrial and infrastructure facilities in the area and the private sector.”

G7 summit afternoon catch-up contd.

Saturday 20 May 2023 15:00 , Matt Mathers

Economy, climate and nuclear proliferation

• Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni is set to leave the G7 summit in Hiroshima a day earlier than scheduled to lead the response to flooding which hit the north of her country this week, two sources said.

• G7 leaders agreed on an initiative to counter "economic coercion," pledging action to ensure that any actors attempting to weaponise economic dependence would fail and face consequences.

• The G7 called for the development and adoption of international technical standards for "trustworthy" artificial intelligence (AI) as lawmakers of the rich countries focus on the new technology.

• G7 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to a highly decarbonised road sector by 2030 and committed to the goal of achieving net-zero emissions on roads by 2050.

• The G7 must take the lead in phasing out fossil fuels, the leaders of seven countries including the Netherlands and Chile said, attempting to build momentum for a global deal this year to gradually quit oil, coal and gas.

• The G7 believes that publicly supported investment in the gas sector can be temporarily appropriate while countries are accelerating the phasing-out of their dependency on Russia, a draft communique seen by Reuters showed.

• Leaders of the G7 called for a "world without nuclear weapons," urging Russia, Iran, China and North Korea to cease nuclear escalation and embrace non-proliferation, a statement released by the White House showed.

G7 summit afternoon catch-up

Saturday 20 May 2023 14:45 , Matt Mathers

China

• G7 leaders outlined a shared approach towards China, looking to "de-risk, not decouple" economic engagement with a country regarded as the factory of the world.

• The G7 is looking to bridge a vast gap with emerging economies in the "Global South" by focussing on infrastructure and debt relief, officials say, part of a strategy to blunt China’s influence in lower-income countries.

• US President Joe Biden and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida have discussed ways to strengthen defence cooperation and counter coercive behaviour by China, the White House said.

• China is gravely concerned about recent signs of "negative" China-related moves at the G7 summit and urges Japan not to turn it into a "political show" against or to curb China, the country’s embassy in Japan said. Its embassy in London warned that any words or deeds harming China’s interests would be met with "firm and resolute countermeasures".

Ukraine

• Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said decisions taken by the G7 countries at their summit in Japan were aimed at the "double containment" of Russia and China.

• G7 leaders said they had ensured that Ukraine had the budget support it needs for this year and early 2024. "Today we are taking new steps to ensure that Russia’s illegal aggression against the sovereign state of Ukraine fails and to support the Ukrainian people in their quest for a just peace rooted in respect for international law," they said in a statement.

• Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky received a warm welcome in Japan after arriving to attend the G7 summit for back-to-back bilateral meetings with world leaders.

• The United States announced sanctions on more than 300 targets, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented.

• During the summit, US President Joe Biden will announce a $375 million military aid package for Ukraine that includes artillery, ammunition and HIMARS rocket launchers, a US official said.

• Biden informed G7 leaders that Washington will support a joint effort with allies to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, CNN reported, citing a senior US administration official.

• German chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government wanted pragmatic measures to prevent the circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia.

• Britain published plans to ban imports of Russian diamonds, copper, aluminium and nickel and announced a new wave of sanctions against Russia, targeting companies connected to the alleged theft of Ukrainian grain.

• President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he invited India to join Ukraine’s peace formula during talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit, their first meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

• G7 leaders called on all participants of the Black Sea grain deal "to continue and fully implement its smooth operation at its maximum potential and for as long as necessary," it said in a statement.

Zelensky invites India PM Modi to join Ukraine’s peace formula

Saturday 20 May 2023 14:29 , Matt Mathers

President Volodymyr Zelensky said he had invited India to join Ukraine’s peace formula during his talks with prime minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Japan.

Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app that the two had also discussed Ukraine’s needs in demining and mobile hospitals during their first face-to-face meeting since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Modi told Zelensky he was keen to help and that for him the war was an issue of humanity and human values.

"I assure you that for its resolution India, and I personally will do everything within our means," he said.

Ukraine rejects Progozhin’s claim to have taken Bakhmut

Saturday 20 May 2023 14:25 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine has denied that Russia’s mercenary Wagner Group has taken full control of Bakhmut.

A spokesperson for Ukraine Military East Command was responding to a claim by Yevgeny Prigozhin that his forces took the key town around lunchtime.

The fight for Bakhmut has become the longest-running battle since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine last February.

Russia’s Prigozhin claims full control of Bakhmut

Saturday 20 May 2023 14:06 , Matt Mathers

The head of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on Saturday claimed full control of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the focus of the longest and bloodiest battle of the war.

The claim could not be  independently verified.  Prigozhin made the claim in a video in which he appeared in combat fatigues in front of a line of fighters holding Russian flags and Wagner banners.

"Today, at 12 noon, Bakhmut was completely taken," Prigozhin said.

G7 flags China’s ‘accelerating nuclear arsenal’ growth as Zelensky arrives in Hiroshima

Saturday 20 May 2023 12:20 , Matt Mathers

The Group of Seven nations took to the world stage to warn against China’s “accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal” but added that the rich nations cohort is not turning inwards, as the biggest global leaders met in Hiroshima on Saturday with the war in Ukraine playing in the backdrop.

China’s “accelerating build-up of its nuclear arsenal without transparency (or) meaningful dialogue poses a concern to global and regional stability”, the G7 leaders said in a joint statement, taking aim at Beijing and Moscow separately.

“We are not decoupling or turning inwards. At the same time, we recognise that economic resilience requires de-risking and diversifying,” the statement said.

Arpan Rai reports:

G7 flags China’s ‘accelerating nuclear arsenal’ growth as Zelensky arrives in Japan

Sunak meets Zelensky at G7 summit as hopes rise of Ukraine getting fighter jets

Saturday 20 May 2023 11:49 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak has met Volodymyr Zelensky at the G7 summit in Hiroshima after the Ukrainian president closed in on obtaining the F-16 fighter jets he wants to fight off Russia.

“Good to see you,” the Prime Minister said, slapping him on the back after they greeted each other with an embrace. “You made it.”

Asked by reporters if it was a good day for Ukraine, Mr Zelensky smiled, nodded and said “thank you so much”.

Sam Blewett has the full report:

Sunak meets Zelensky at G7 summit as hopes rise of Ukraine getting fighter jets

Russia says supplying F-16 jets to Ukraine would carry 'colossal' risks for West - TASS

Saturday 20 May 2023 11:23 , Matt Mathers

Western countries will be running "colossal risks" if they supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets, TASS news agency quoted Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko as saying on Saturday.

Grushko was responding to a question about the implications of providing the jets, which Ukraine has been requesting from NATO countries.

It has not yet won commitments to deliver the planes, but US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders on Friday that Washington supports joint allied training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s, senior US officials said.

"We see that Western countries are still adhering to the escalation scenario. It involves colossal risks for themselves," Grushko was quoted as saying.

"In any case, this will be taken into account in all our plans, and we have all the necessary means to achieve the goals we have set."

A year after Mariupol’s fall, Azovstal survivor recalls surrender with pain and a sense of purpose

Saturday 20 May 2023 10:45 , Matt Mathers

Mikhailo Vershinin was a shadow of the burly Mariupol policeman he was when he emerged after four months in Russian captivity.

The head of Mariupol’s Police Patrol, he was among hundreds to surrender from the Russian siege of the Azovstal steel mill on the orders of the Ukrainian president a year ago and was close to death on the day he was exchanged for Russian prisoners of war.

He experienced first-hand the day the final square of the besieged city fell and now recalls it with both deep sadness, but a sense of purpose for Ukraine’s future.

Mstyslav Chernov reports:

A year after Mariupol’s fall, Azovstal survivor recalls surrender with pain and a sense of purpose

Sunak meets Zelensky at G7

Saturday 20 May 2023 10:17 , Matt Mathers

Rishi Sunak met Volodymyr Zelensky with an embrace at the G7 summit in Hiroshima.

The prime minister said: "You made it."

Asked if it was a good day, the Ukrainian president smiled, nodded and said "thank you".

Independent editorial: As Zelensky flies in to the G7, oily Russia is once again slipping the net

Saturday 20 May 2023 10:15 , Matt Mathers

The Russian economy has suffered from its isolation, and from the sudden withdrawal of Western trade and investment, but it has certainly not been ‘strangled’

Read the full editorial below:

Editorial: As Zelensky flies in to the G7, oily Russia is once again slipping the net

Zelenksy holds meeting with Italy’s Meloni

Saturday 20 May 2023 10:10 , Matt Mathers

Volodymyr Zelensky has held talks with Italy’s prime minister on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

The UK president spoke with Giorgia Meloni after arriving at the gathering in Hiroshima, Japan, earlier this morning.

Mr Zelensky is at the summit to drum up support from the world’s rich democracies and sound out "Global South" leaders with long ties to Russia.

Sanctions against Russia and what the G7 may do to fortify them

Saturday 20 May 2023 09:45 , Matt Mathers

The Group of Seven advanced economies are expected to announce a new set of sanctions against Russia to try to further hinder its war effort in Ukraine during their summit in Hiroshima, Japan.

In traveling to Japan, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will help to drive home the need to better enforce measures meant to stifle Moscow’s war machine.

Russia is now the most-sanctioned country in the world, but there are questions about their effectiveness. EU Council President Charles Michel said the plan was to close loopholes and ensure the sanctions are painful for Russia, not for the countries enforcing them.

Elaine Kurtenbach reports:

Sanctions against Russia and what the G7 may do to fortify them

Watch live: Zelensky arrives in Japan for G7

Saturday 20 May 2023 09:15 , Matt Mathers

Peace will become ‘closer today’ - Zelenksy

Saturday 20 May 2023 08:45 , Matt Mathers

Peace will become “closer today”, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenksy said ahead of his visit to Japan for the G7 summit.

Mr Zelenksy touched down in Hiroshima earlier for the gathering of the world’s largest economies in meetings set to be dominated by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine last February.

“Japan. G7. Important meetings with partners and friends of Ukraine,” Mr Zelenksy said in a tweet. “Security and enhanced cooperation for our victory. Peace will become closer today.”

Zelensky arrives in Japan

Saturday 20 May 2023 08:15 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy landed Saturday in Hiroshima for diplomatic talks with the leaders of the world’s most powerful democracies who have tightened sanctions meant to punish Moscow and change the course of its 15-month invasion of Ukraine.

Japan says Zelenskyy’s decision to visit Hiroshima stems from his "strong wish" to participate in talks that will influence his nation’s defense against Russia.

An EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity to brief reporters on the deliberations, said Zelenskyy will take part in two separate sessions Sunday. The first session will be with G7 members only and will focus on the war in Ukraine. The second session will include the G7 as well as the other nations invited to take part in the summit, and will focus on "peace and stability."

White House: Biden to discuss Ukraine with Brazil’s Lula, India’s Modi

Saturday 20 May 2023 07:20 , Matt Mathers

US  President Joe Biden aims to speak this weekend with Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, about Ukraine and the "sacrosanct" issue of sovereignty and territorial integrity, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Saturday.

Lula and Modi are attending a summit of the Group of Seven (G7) rich nations in Hiroshima at the invitation of Japan, this year’s host of the G7, which also includes the US., Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada.

Asked if Biden would pressure or urge the two leaders to toughen their approach on China and Russia, Sullivan said, "I think pressure is just the wrong word. I mean, that’s not how President Biden operates with these key leaders with whom he has deep relationships, like President Lula and President Modi."

Instead, Biden would "look for the opportunity to speak with both of them about the constructive role that each country can play in supporting the most basic and fundamental element of any outcome, which is sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is sacrosanct in the (United Nations) Charter," Sullivan told reporters in Hiroshima.

Putin redeploying several battalions to Bakhmut as capture remains key war aim – UK MoD

Saturday 20 May 2023 07:02 , Arpan Rai

Russia has highly likely redeployed up to several battalions to reinforce the Bakhmut sector in the last four days, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today.

“Russia’s leadership likely continue to see capturing Bakhmut as the key immediate war aim which would allow them to claim some degree of success in the conflict,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update on the continuing war.

It added that the amped up redeployment of several troops “follows Ukrainian tactical gains on the flanks of the contested Donetsk Oblast town through mid-May and publicly aired doubts about the commitment of Wagner Group forces to continue fighting in the sector”.

“With Russia likely maintaining relatively few uncommitted combat units in Ukraine, the redeployment represents a notable commitment by the Russian command,” the MoD said.